Best offer on record: Decap CMS core — free open source (MIT), forever. 3 verified findings, checked 2026-10-22.
Offers
Decap CMS core — free open source (MIT), forever high confidence
The entire Decap CMS product is free: MIT-licensed, self-hosted, no usage limits, no seat limits, no hosting fees from Decap. Official site states it is 'Free & open source, forever' — 'free today and will remain free for everyone, always.' You run the admin UI yourself (e.g. on any host or on Netlify's own free tier) against your own Git backend (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Gitea).
Eligibility
Anyone — students, startups, enterprises, no .edu email, no age/funding cap, no credit card, no region limits. No application required.
How to claim
Download the npm package or use the CDN + add admin/index.html and config.yml to your project; authenticate via your Git provider's OAuth (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket) or another backend. No signup, no payment details, no expiry. Docs: decapcms.org/docs/intro
Expiry
None — MIT license and 'free forever' commitment are permanent; no sunset announced.
Gotchas
It is self-hosted: you must supply your own auth/identity and hosting for the admin UI, and pay for Git-host API rate limits on large collections. Netlify Identity (the formerly recommended auth path) was deprecated in 2025, so legacy sites need a backend swap (Decap Turbo, DecapBridge, or Auth0) — a hidden cost of time. No dedicated student or startup program exists on the core product.
Decap Turbo Free plan — managed hosting, free indefinitely high confidence
Decap Turbo is Decap's paid managed layer (hosted auth & roles, database-backed content store for faster performance, Git-host rate-limit shielding, deploy notifications, activity log, S3-compatible media library, site variables). The Free plan: €0/month, 1 site + 1 seat, free indefinitely (not a trial). Includes the managed infrastructure: 'Faster CMS', 'Git host request shielding', 'Activity log', 'Deploy notifications', community support.
Eligibility
Any organization (students/startups equally eligible); no credit card required to sign up; no .edu or funding-cap conditions; no region limits stated. Payment (Paddle.com, EUR, monthly, tax included) required only for paid plans.
How to claim
1) Sign up at https://turbo.decapcms.org/signup — you land on the Free plan, no card. 2) Add your site (up to 1). 3) Use hosted auth; invite at most 1 seat. No trial involvement; Free plan stays free unless you upgrade.
Expiry
Indefinite — 'stays free indefinitely'; no renewal or expiry date. Paid plans are month-to-month with no yearly self-serve option.
Gotchas
Free plan is capped at 1 site + 1 seat — larger teams need Pro. S3 media library and site variables are Pro-and-above features, not in Free. It is genuinely free, not a trial — 'paying for Decap Turbo never means paying for Decap CMS itself.'
Decap Turbo 14-day Pro trial — no credit card high confidence
Organization owner can opt in to a 14-day Pro trial that unlocks every Pro feature except priority support. Trial caps: 5 sites and 25 users. No credit card required to start. If no payment method is added, you get a 1-week grace at full Pro access, then the org drops to Free: one site stays editable, all other sites become read-only, non-owner members lose access, pending invitations are revoked — nothing is deleted; adding payment later restores access (oldest sites first). For reference, Pro retail is €19/month (1 site + 5 seats; extra €10/site · €6/seat), priority support add-on €99/month per org, Enterprise custom with unlimited (fair use).
Eligibility
Any registered organization (students/startups equally eligible); no credit card required; no .edu or funding-cap conditions stated.
How to claim
1) Sign up on Free plan at turbo.decapcms.org/signup. 2) As organization owner, open the Billing page. 3) Opt in to the 14-day Pro trial (or skip it). No card, no auto-upgrade — 'Nothing is switched on for you: skip the opt-in and you simply stay on Free.'
Expiry
Trial ends after 14 days + 1-week grace; then the org reverts to the Free plan (1 site editable, others read-only). It renews as a paid Pro plan only if you add payment (EUR, monthly, via Paddle).
Gotchas
Trial is a trial (temporary Pro access), while the Free plan is permanently free — the page explicitly distinguishes them. Pro requires a credit card for ongoing use. Prices are EUR, tax included, monthly only; third-party figures (e.g. $37/mo 'Starter' on Sitepins, unverified apis.io 'Decap Turbo Starter/Team/Business') do not match the official page — trust decapcms.org/turbo.
As of 2026-10-22, Decap CMS/Decap Turbo has NO dedicated education/student license, no startup program, and no trial-credit offer for students or startups beyond what is listed: the permanent MIT-licensed free core, the Decap Turbo Free plan (1 site/1 seat, no CC), and the 14-day no-CC Pro trial. No education or startup discount appears anywhere on the official pages (checked decapcms.org and decapcms.org/turbo today). No student/startup free-offer sunset was found in 2025-2026 because none existed. Related context: Netlify Identity, the formerly recommended free auth backend, was deprecated around 2025 — pushing legacy Decap CMS users toward Decap Turbo (or third-party auth like DecapBridge). Decap Turbo (a 2025-era launch) is the only paid surface; note that third-party pricing references (Sitepins: "$37/mo Starter"; apis.io: unverified plan names) contradict the official €19/mo Pro price and should be treated as stale/unconfirmed.